Making a stock

T

TarpMan

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Well, I am interested in making my own stock for a project gun. I have a nice piece of maple and I was looking for advice on how to get started. Any help is appreciated.
-Tarp Man
 
Well, I'd start with a semi finished stock for starters, and do do the final steps on it after reading as much as I can.
Then, I might go at the blank.
Cutting a stock from a blank without someone to help you through the steps is not something you just "pick up".
It is a very involved process (I have done more than a few), and I would hate to see you wreck a nice piecee of wood right from the get go!
Cat
 
catnthehatt said:
Well, I'd start with a semi finished stock for starters, and do do the final steps on it after reading as much as I can.
Then, I might go at the blank.
Cutting a stock from a blank without someone to help you through the steps is not something you just "pick up".
It is a very involved process (I have done more than a few), and I would hate to see you wreck a nice piecee of wood right from the get go!
Cat
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thats no fun. do it from scrach, if you have the time and tools. get another cheep stock so you can get refrences off it. and maple what are you thinking man lol make it out of some exotic wood like zebra wood or something like that.
ttyal
Riley
 
A guy I shoot with made a beautiful prone stock for his RPA. Way too nice to even take to the range. It is a work of art. He used a Anshutz prone stock as a model. He cut,chiesled, sanded, stuppled, inletted all by hand.
I asked him how he made it and he told me. You start off with a block of wood, then cut away everything that does look like a rifle stock. That's all you have to do.:D
He told me he put 150 hours into it, which I don't doubt.
 
death-junky said:
thats no fun. do it from scrach, if you have the time and tools. get another cheep stock so you can get refrences off it. and maple what are you thinking man lol make it out of some exotic wood like zebra wood or something like that.
ttyal
Riley
Click to expand...
Unlkess you have actually made a stock from a blank, I would not make suggestions like that .
Zebra wood has its own little quirks and can be a real bear to work with not to mention it the cost.
Cat
 
There are some stock making companies that will accept your wood and put it on their machine. The result is a semi finished stock where you have to finish the inletting and finish the stock. You have to be careful though as there are no guarantees as to the outcome - as was mentioned each wood has quirks and it can split / warp / etc in the process.
 
I've made several attempts, a couple were not bad. It takes practice, and patience.
I suggest you try it with a piece of scrap first, and work out the bugs of how to do it.
I took the existing stock, layed it on top of the board, and drew a rough outline. I cut around it leaving lots of wood to work with, and then rasped from there.
You will need wood working tools. Gouges and such. You can cheat, using Dremels, routers, even Dado blades, but you must be carefull, as power tools cut very fast, and you can't put the wood back on if you screw up.
Take your time. If you are not in a mood to work at it uninterupted and with devotion, set it aside and work at it later. Never work at it for very long, or you will get bored and take a short cut, and screw it up.
You can do it, but be prepared to take some time, and screw up some wood.
 
Apart from Kennedy's book, a number of the older gunsmithing books have detailed instructions on stockmaking. Some rifles are a lot harder to stock than others, because of the way the magazine unit engages the receiver. Very careful layout is critical. You have to have reference points. Most of my "from the board" stockmaking has involved muzzleloaders. Their inletting is a piece of cake compared to a Mauser 98, etc. As has been suggested, for a first project it would be a good idea to have your wood machine carved to rough it out. There is still lots of interesting work to finish a pre-carved.
 
I have a stock blank of silky oak and I rang a renowned stock maker to see if he would semi finish it to a certain style for me. He said that he only works with stock blanks he sources and won't work with any wood apart from walnut due to respiratory problems others caused him in the past. He said the only other stock makers he knew of were unlikely to do it for the same reasons. So the big question is how do I get this thing made into a stock?
I'd have a shot but I'm no handyman or wood worker although I have a garage full of woodworking tools owned by the guy who owns the place I'm housesitting.
He doesn't get back for a year and has given me free reign.
Should I take to it and sand back one of the sides to see if there is grain enough to look good?
 
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Goose25 said:
here's a couple stocks from my buddies down at RFC.

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109786

http://www.hunt101.com/showgallery....t=1&perpage=16&password=&ppuser=14259&stype=2

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110528&highlight=polar+bear

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117289&highlight=polar+bear

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76919&page=1&pp=15&highlight=polar+bear
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Goose, there are some amazing stocks there but they aren't carved from a single block of timber.
It's more like a combination of woodwork and LEGO bricks.
Don't get me wrong, I love the look and they must be excellent for target rifles but they actually have a stock to begin with and use it as a foundation for the finished product.
They don't actually have to inlet them.
The job's already done.
Here's a pic of what I have:
SilkyOakStockBlank.jpg

Where do I start?
No offence but you must see my point.
 
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